The Last Guardian, Interlude 1, The Reunion
by ArrancarMaiden
Summary: An interlude between the first story, The Last Guardian, and its sequel. Sequel will follow soon. Xander reunites with his family after leaving Sunnydale. COMPLETE!


**Title**: The Last Guardian, Interlude 1, Reunion

**Author**: Queenkittykat on and dragonsconsort on

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Buffy: The Vampire Slayer. That belongs to its respective owners. I also don't own anything recognizable, titles, products, etc. I wouldn't be writing this if I did. This is purely for entertainment and nothing else. Money will not be made off this. So please don't sue me.

**Fandom/season:** Buffy: The Vampire Slayer season 3ish, AU from there

**Summary: **This takes place between The Last Guardian and its sequel, which is yet unwritten at this point. It is about the reunion between Xander and the Clan.

**AN: Glad the first story was so liked. This should answer a few questions that some reviewers had. If not, then they will be answered soon.**

The reddish pickup truck zoomed down the road at a fast pace, nearing 100 mph. But the occupants acted as if the truck wasn't going so fast. The two were busy talking, catching up with the other.

Finally one, a dark-haired young looking man with equally dark eyes, finally asked the one question that was nagging at him. His name was Fred Harris, and he was much older than he looked. He actually was nearing sixty years at the moment. But he only looked about twenty-five.

If you would ask any who knew Fred, besides his family, you would get answers like, "Oh, Fred Harris? Nice young man, polite." Or "Fred likes to pull pranks, but only pulled ones that weren't too bad or dangerous. He's cautious." But these types of comments came from acquaintances, people who really didn't know him. Those that did know him well, and what he was, knew that he was an extremely powerful sorcerer. He specialized in magical fighting techniques, and regularly hunted down vampires and demons.

He deeply cared for his family and clan. And one of his most favorite cousins was the young man that he now was taking home, finally. You see, Fred had once lived in Sunnydale.

Something that wasn't that known among outsiders was that Guardians, or the X'aidt as they called themselves (and this was their real name, forgotten by outsiders), needed their existence and location on the areas to stay a secret. Knowledge of who they were and where they lived in the individual 'hotspots' was a crucial secret. If any of the demons that could stand against them, and was powerful enough to kill an X'aidt, found out who they were and where they were, they would be under attack.

Their houses would be a target and they would be tracked wherever they went, their enemies looking for any weaknesses. And often, they would be forced to flee for their very lives. And the X'aidt Council gave permission for any X'aidt under attack this way to leave the area. Often their presence would be replaced by new X'aidt or even allies of other races that would do the same job if the area was too dangerous at the moment for a Guardian.

This is what happened to Fred's clan. The X'eiar Clan, or the Harris Clan, once was in charge of the Sunnydale Hellmouth. They had been there for a very long time, centuries. Even before the area was settled, there was a Clan there, doing the same duties as what was needed. The new settlement just made it more difficult and added to their job.

Throughout the centuries, though, the once large X'eiar Clan grew smaller, as members left either of their own choice or were given duties somewhere else. Or they were discovered, and left unwillingly. In the late 1980's, the remaining Clan that was left was only about 10 in number, two individual families.

Fred's family, along with his two sisters Ria and Mara and their parents lived in the new part of the town, where the newest homes were built. Three blocks away lived Xander's family. Timothy and Maria lived with their two daughters, Serena and Yolinda, and their young 8 year old son Alexander, otherwise known as Xander.

Then, they were discovered. On that terrible night, Fred's beloved sister Mara was killed by the demon assassins sent after them. She had just, right before they had been ambushed, done quite a bit of healing for one of her patients at the hospital. This was probably the reason why the assassins were able to slay her. At her full strength, they would not have come even close.

At the same time, Xander's family was ambushed after picking Xander up from school. All survived, but their cover was blown. The Master had caught word of their location and had taken advantage. Xander's family chose to leave immediately. His mother Maria was pregnant with his unborn baby sister at the time, and Timothy was taking no chances.

But the then 8 year old Xander refused to leave. Even at that age, he had a great sense of duty toward the town. And also, he didn't want to leave his friends Willow and Jesse. After investigating and a lot of discussion, it was decided that it was safe for him to stay, because the Master had no idea of his existence. And it wasn't like they were abandoning him, this was his decision and they were just a moments away, having the ability to 'teleport' great distances to any place they had been before or even knew of.

They didn't like it, but Xander was stubborn. And he was refusing to leave. So he was left in the care of Jessica and Tony Harris, who despite the name had no relation to them at all.

Fred glanced at the teenager and saw the handsome young man that that little boy had become. A young man with an immense sense of loyalty. Also a young man that just so happen to be one of the most powerful X'aidt alive, with great knowledge of and control over his gifts.

"Why didn't you tell your friends of your leaving?" He finally asked Xander, with puzzlement. Xander, taking in account of his nature and loyalty, had shown uncommon behavior for him.

The teen was silent for a moment, looking out of the windshield, thinking of the answer. To tell the truth, he really didn't know why. Maybe it was to avoid the questions that they would surely have. Maybe to avoid seeing Willow cry. He would call her later, and knew that she would tell the others. Some of the reason why he didn't tell her was because she wouldn't understand. He couldn't tell her the truth. And she, through her tears, would demand the truth. She had the unnerving ability to tell when he was lying to her. She knew him that well, behavior wise of course. Before, he had just been lucky to not have to lie to her. But he wouldn't be able to this time.

Buffy he knew why of course. Really, he had felt betrayed and hurt by her insistence to try to keep him from fighting, yet not thinking of the very fact that he had held his own throughout the years before. And just leaving him without any protection, not thinking that he was a target now because of their friendship. Buffy he could lie to. After all, he had been doing it for years now. And he didn't want to even talk to her. She didn't know that seeing and talking to her at school was like a stab to the chest, a renewing of the betrayal each day. She thought that everything would okay now, that she could remain friends with him, yet not trust him at the same time.

Giles was a different matter. Some of the same feelings were directed towards him, for not stopping his slayer from being utterly stupid. But then there was the fact that he couldn't have been expected to control his slayer. But he didn't stop it either. Xander thought of him as a sort of a father-like figure, beyond his own. So he had prepared a letter to send through the mail to Giles later.

He knew everyone probably wouldn't notice his disappearance for a while. He had been avoiding them for a bit, so it was expected of them to think that first. But Willow would notice after no more than a couple of days, even just one day. She would call him, and get nothing. He would call later. But then she would get worried, then anxious. Then would bring in the gang after alerting them.

He knew that Buffy wouldn't miss him at first because of the Angel and Spike situation. She hadn't noticed that they were gone for about two weeks. Then, after thinking that she hadn't even seen a hair of the vampire for a long time, had alerted the others. Together with Giles, after getting the information from Willy, she had stormed the warehouse. But they found nothing.

Buffy had been perplexed, then had started to become increasingly more worried and agitated. She after all wanted her boyfriend back. But nothing had come of her searches.

So he knew that the vanishing of the 'Zeppo' wouldn't come into her notice until she was told by Willow and/or Giles. For all of her duties as the slayer, she could be really self-centered at times.

"I don't know why." This was the simplest answer to the question. He could add to it after his thoughts had been collected together more.

Hours later, they arrived in the outskirts of a small town near Los Angeles. It was called Haven. Don't try finding it on a map, because the whole town is a sort of refuge. And when I say refuge, it was controlled and run by the X'aidt Council. **(1)**

The town was a safe haven for all creatures that needed it. Humans, X'aidt, good demons, and many others were contained within its city limits. The whole place, along with a number of acres of forest and wilderness around the town. The place, if you include all the parks, recreation areas, and forest, had everything that was needed. There was a magical trade line set up to bring in any other items. Even a few farms were protected. Around the area was a powerful magical shield. Only those with the permission of the Council could even see it, never mind enter. And the whole area was a protected secret. No enemy of the X'aidt even knew of the rumor of its existence. It was that imported and that protected.

Those that didn't know of its existence, regular humans for example, would just see an old dirt road leading to the edge of a small ditch. And the illusion was so real that they could even go into what they think of the ditch and the dirty water, all unaware that ancient magical forces, only known to the X'aidt, was tricking them.

This was where the X'eiar Clan, aka the Harris Clan, had relocated. And where Xander had come to visit often, usually without any one in Sunnydale knowing of his leaving and return.

In a two story white house in the housing district of Haven, there was a lot of activity. Maria Harris was busy preparing the biggest meal that she had made for a long time. She hurried back and forth in the kitchen, and glared at any and all who dared to disturb her.

She was a small, plumb woman, with long brown hair and blue eyes. And she had on a blue apron at the moment that said, "I'm the cook, Do Not Disturb or Dishes Await **You**!" That had been gift from Spike, who had found it extremely funny in and couldn't resist getting it. The apron fit her, because it described exactly what would happen if she was disturbed.

Now, she was all a bustle because her baby was finally coming home. Despite the assurances of others, she had never stopped worrying that her baby's cover would be blown and he would get hurt, and even killed. But now he was coming here. Where she would know that he was safe.

She felt it when he crossed the limits of Haven. There was a burst of magic deep inside her, signaling the return of the last Guardian.

In the living room, Timothy, Ria, Serena, Yolinda, Tia (Xander's little sister), Angel, and Spike all sat. They all awaited Xander's arrival. All had similar yet different feelings.

For Timothy it was like his wife's. His son was coming home finally.

For Ria, Serena, Yolinda, and Tia is was like their parents thoughts. Their cousin/brother was coming home to stay. They had spent hours preparing his room and shopping for clothes. They couldn't wait to see his reaction. Tia was waiting to see her favorite brother in the whole wide world. Even though she wasn't a little girl anymore, she often acted like it when her brother came over. Now he was coming for good.

Angel and Spike was having similar thoughts, and different ones than the others. Both were in the young man's debt. Xander was the reason why they had the life they now had. They had a family now. A family that they would be forever loyal to. They were accepted in the community and many of the community ladies had taken upon themselves to make them feel welcome. They actually weren't the only souled vampires there. There was about twenty of them in the community, and every one of them had adopted the two newcomers. They helped Angel and Spike to deal with the feelings of guilt and many other feelings.

Actually, both of the vampires had found someone in the community. And both had found another that knew what they were going through. Angel had found Elizabeth S'ar, a young woman who had been born and raised in Romania before being turned around 1750. It was about fifty years later that she had been 'given' a soul be a group of humans who considered themselves masters in the dark arts when they weren't at all. She had been found by a young X'aidt who had brought her to Haven and the spell, the group of 'masters' having messed it up pretty badly and actually caused some complications, was altered so that the original flaws were gone. It was permanent now. And she loved Haven. She had met Angel during one of the meetings that was set up to help Angel and Spike. And now they were dating, and happy.

Spike had found another souled vampire named Angela **(AN: Hehe, think of a female version of Angel, notice the name, hehe). **Angela had come from another part of London the same time that Spike was human. Actually, she had been five years younger, and had been turned out of spite and anger by a Master Vampire that she had angered by actually getting away from him the first time. She was turned in 1899. In 1965, when a human who lived in Haven had come across her with a few of his friends, she was given a soul, which was cast to be permanent the first time. She had come to Haven, and stayed. Spike met her the same time Angel had met Elizabeth, who just happened to be her best friend. **(2)**

So, thus, both were happy. And both knew that they owed Xander in part for that.

Then, they all heard the sound of wheels pulling up into the driveway. And then the turning of the door knob. And then, Xander came in. Instantly, Maria threw herself at her son. And through her tears of happiness and relief that came streaming down her face, the message was clear. It was also clear in the faces of everyone else in the room.

The last X'aidt, aka Guardian, had come home.

**Hoped you liked it. This is just an interlude and leads into the sequel of the first story. Read and review. **

**This is of my imagination, the town is not real. So don't go looking for it. **

**I wanted to give Angel and Spike some happiness too. And with someone who knew what they were going through. So Elizabeth and Angela appeared in my head instantly and told me in matter-of-fact tones that they wanted some action. So thus, the result. ******


End file.
